Flag plug for vessel openings

ABSTRACT

A flag plug for use with a cover for an opening in a vessel such as the hatch cover or manway opening of a railroad car. The flag plug includes a shank portion having a barbed end and a head with a reduced diameter portion connecting the shank and head. The plug is adapted to fit into aligned openings in the cover and the vessel when the cover is closed. When the cover is closed, the plug is substantially flush with the top of the cover. When the cover is opened, the head of the plug will break off. The plug is used to provide an easily recognizable signal as to whether the cover has been opened.

United States Patent [1 1 Sytko Oct. 30, 1973 [54] FLAG PLUG FOR VESSEL OPENINGS 3,611,861 10/1971 Schulze 85/5 R [75] Inventor: Thomas H. Sytko, Niles, lll.

Primary Examiner-Richard E. Moore [73] Assignee: General American Transportation Assistant Examine, wi||iam p pate m Corporafion, Chicago, Attorney-Jack L. Prather et al.

[22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.2 242,399 [57] ABSTRACT A flag plug for use with a cover for an opening in a vessel such as the hatch cover or manway opening of [22] a railroad car. The flag plug includes a shank portion having a barbed end and a head with a reduced diame- 1 0 292/256 ter portion connecting the shank and head. The plug is adapted to fit into aligned openings in the cover and 56 R f Ct d the vessel when the cover is closed. When the cover is 1 e erences I e closed, the plug is substantially flush with the top of UNITED STATES PATENTS the cover. When the cover is opened, the head of the 1,512,632 10/1924 0 Connor 292/327 X plug will break off. The plug is used to provide an eas- 409,034 3/1339 Gillespie 92/327 ily recognizable signal as to whether the cover has 3,664,270 5 1972 Stark et al. 292 2505 x been Opened 3,149,869 9/1964 Chamberlin 292/320 1,908,241 5/1933 Heeren et al. 292/327 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures FLAG PLUG FOR VESSEL OPENINGS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to flag plug type security seals for use with covers and in particular to a flag plug type security seal for use in indicating whether the cover for a vessel opening has been opened and then closed.

The use of some means for indicating whether the covers on various openings such as manways and lading openings on railroad cars and other vessels have been opened and then closed has been in existence for some time. These devices are particularly valuable on vehicles such as railroad cars and trucks and can be used to provide that a hatch cover or door has not been opened between the time the car is filled and the time the car arrives at its destination. This is particularly valuable in applications where food stuffs are being transported and it is important to assure the customer that the lading has not been tampered with and thus contaminated during transportation.

Prior to the present invention, most security seals required the use of some tools to secure the security seal to the car opening. By the present invention, I have provided a flag plug type security seal which can be applied to the vessel opening without the use of tools. The security seal of the present invention is easily applied and will show at a glance whether or not a hatch cover or other cover for a vessel opening has been opened between the time the vessel is loaded and the time the cover is scheduled to be opened for unloading or other purposes.

SUMMARY It is the principal object of this invention to provide a novel security seal for use with a vessel opening cover which is simple to use and will readily show whether a vessel opening cover has been opened.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hatch cover assembly which includes a novel security sea].

It is another object of this invention to provide an article of manufacture particularly adapted for use as a flag plug type security seal on a vessel opening cover assembly.

In general, the foregoing and other objects will be carried out by providing for use with a cover for opening in a vessel wherein said vessel includes a passage spaced from the opening in said vessel and said cover has a passage therethrough positioned to be aligned with said passage in said vessel, a flag plug for indicating whether the cover has been opened comprising a shank portion dimensioned to extend through the passage in said cover and into the passage in said vessel, a head adapted to be exposed on the surface of said cover and a frangible portion connecting said head and said shank portion whereby when said cover is opened said head will be broken off said shank portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be described in connection with the annexed drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a railroad car having a hatch and hatch cover assembly;

FIG. 2 is a view partly in section taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1 showing a typical hatch cover assembly as used on many vessels;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a hatch cover assembly employing the security seal of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3 showing the flag plug type security seal as applied to a hatch cover;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view taken on the line 55 of FIG. 4 showing the security seal of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the security seal of the present invention after the hatch cover has been opened.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a railroad car generally indicated at 1 which is adapted for use in carrying a lading, such as flour, cement or other pulverulent material. Although a railroad car is shown in the drawing, it is intended that the present invention be applicable to any vessel having an opening and a cover. The railroad car includes a pair of trucks 2 having wheels 4 mounted on the trucks 2 by means of axles 6. The railroad car 1 includes a plurality of openings in its top 7 which are covered by hatch cover assemblies generally indicated at 20.

A typical hatch cover assembly 20 is shown in greater detail in FIG. 2. The top 7 of the railroad car 1 includes an opening 8 which may be a manway for filling the railroad car with the desired lading. The top 7 includes an upstanding tubular section 9 surrounding the opening 8 and an annular flange ll integral with the tubular section 9. A collar 10 seals the section 9 to the top 7. Hinge parts 13 and 13a are secured to the top 7 and its associated cover 22, respectively. A pivot pin 14 pivotally secures the cover 22 to the top 7 and permits the cover 22 to be pivoted between an open position which permits-access to the railroad car 1 through the opening 8 and a closed position covering the opening 8. The hinge parts 13 and 13a are similar to that disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,197,061 issued to C. T. Graves. The cover 22 is provided with an annular sealing gasket 24 which is adapted to engage the flange 11 to prevent dust or water from entering the opening 8.

The top 7 is provided with a plurality of pairs of lugs 25 with each pair having an eye-bolt 26 pivotally secured thereto by a suitable pivot pin 27. The eye-bolts 26 are adapted to fit into slots in the cover 22. A hand wheel 28 is threadedly secured to each eye-bolt 26 and each may be tightened to sealingly secure the cover 22 to the opening 8 and to prevent accidental opening of the cover 22 in a manner well known in the art.

The cover 22 is provided with a passage 30 in its edge as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This passage is countersunk at 32. The flange 11 is also provided with a passage indicated at 34 which is aligned with the passage 30 in the cover 22 when the cover is closed. The passage 34 is preferably countersunk as at 36.

The flag plug type security seal of the present invention is generally indicated at 38 and includes a shank 40, a head 42 and a reduced diameter portion or neck 44 connecting the head 42 to one end of the shank 40. The other end of the shank 40 is provided with a barbed end 46. The barbed end 46 includes three radial slots 48 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. These slots 48 permit the barbed end 46 to be compressed so that it will fit into the passage 34 and then return to its original shape so that the seal 38 is held in place by the barbed end 46 gripping the countersink 36.

Preferably, the security seal 38 is made of a frangible material, i.e., a material which can withstand a substantial compressive force, but which is relatively easily broken upon the application of tensile forces, such as a molded plastic, but may also be made from other suitable materials. It is particularly important that the neck 44 be frangible. The use of such a frangible material permits the head 42 to be easily broken off the shank 40 when the cover 22 is opened. This is shown in FIG. 6 wherein the cover 22 has been opened and the head 42 has been broken off at the neck 44 from the rest of the security seal. The neck 44 and the barbed end 46 insures that only the head 42 breaks off and the shank 40 of the security seal 38 is not removed from the passage 34 in the flange 11. In order to insure that the seal breaks at the neck 44 and not at the barbed end 46, the barbs engaging the shoulder defined by the countersink 36 have a cross-sectional area larger than the neck 44.

in order to serve its intended function, it is preferable that the security seal 38 be made of a material which will retain the desired frangible properties over a wide temperature range such as minus to 110F. This is particularly important when the invention is to be used on a railroad car where the car may be moved from a high temperature climate to a low temperature climate. One material found suitable is a 6/6 Nylon which is Molybdenum disulfide filled.

in the use of the security seal 38 of the present invention, after the vessel such as a railroad car 1 has been filled with material and the hatches are closed, the security seal 38 will be inserted through the opening 30 and opening 34. This can be done by simply pushing down on the head 42 of the security seal 38 so that when the barbed end 46 is pushed through the opening 34, the segments of the barbed end 46 expand to grip the shoulder formed by the countersink 36. The security seal 38 is preferably of such a length and the longitudinal extent of the head 42 is such that the head 42 is substantially flush with the surface of the cover 22. This prevents tampering with the security seal 38 once it is in place. When the hatch cover 22 is opened, the head 42 will break off. Because most hatch covers 22 are quite heavy, the force required to open the cover 22 will be sufficient to fracture the neck 44. An inspector will readily be able to determine whether a hatch cover 22 has been opened as in the event there is unauthorized tampering with the railroad car 1 because if it has, the head 42 will be missing. In order to facilitate such inspection, it may be desirable to make the seal of a bright color different from the color of the hatch I cover 22.

The opening 34 may be of such a size that once the head 42 has been broken off the shank 40, the rest of the security seal 38 will easily be removed from the flange 11 through the opening 34. If the security seal 38 does not fall out, it will be pushed through the opening 34 when a new security seal 38 is applied.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the objects of this invention have been carried out. A flag plug type security seal 38 has been provided which may be attached to a vessel opening cover 22 without the use of tools. The seal 38 gives a ready indication as to whether or not the hatch cover 22 has been opened. The seal 38 is designed to reduce the likelihood of unauthorized tampering with the seal 38. lt is designed so that the seal 38 cannot be replaced to look like the hatch cover 22 has not been opened when in fact it has been opened because in most cases. when the head 42 is broken off, it will be lost.

It is intended that the foregoing description be merely that of a preferred embodiment and that the invention be limited solely by that which is within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. For use with a cover for an opening in a vessel wherein said vessel includes a passage spaced from the opening in said vessel and said cover has a passage therethrough positioned to be aligned with said passage in said vessel, a flag plug for indicating whether the cover has been opened comprising a shank portion dimensioned to extend through the passage in said cover and into the passage in said vessel, a head adapted to be exposed on the surface of said cover, and a frangible portion connecting said head and said shank portion whereby when said cover is opened said head will be broken off said shank portion, said frangible portion having a smaller cross-sectional area transverse to the longitudinal axis of the flag plug than said shank portion and said head; said shank portion having a barbed end including at least one slot therein to provide a plurality of barbs for preventing said flag plug from being removed through the passage in said cover after the flag plug is positioned in the passage in the vessel; said barbs having a cross-sectional area transverse to the longitudinal axis of the flag plug larger than the crosssectional area of said frangible portion.

2. A hatch cover assembly for a vessel which includes a hatch hole, said hatch cover assembly comprising:

a tubular member surrounding the hatch hole;

a flange extending outwardly from the top of the tubular member;

a hatch cover pivotally secured to said vessel and adapted to be pivoted between a position which permits access to said vessel through the hatch hole and a position in which the hatch hole is closed;

means for releasably securing said hatch cover to said vessel when said hatch cover is in a position in which the hatch hole is closed;

said hatch cover defining an opening near one edge;

said flange having an opening therein which is aligned with the opening in the hatch when said hatch cover is in a position in which the hatch hole is closed; and

plug means positioned in the opening in the hatch cover and the opening in the flange when the hatch hole is closed;

said plug means including a head and a shank portion interconnected by a reduced diameter portion whereby when said plug means is in said openings and said hatch cover is opened, said head will be broken off from the shank portion.

3. The hatch cover assembly according to claim 2 wherein said plug means includes a barbed end on said shank portion which is adapted to fit in the opening in the flange.

4. The hatch cover assembly according to claim 3 wherein said barbed end is provided with at least one slot to permit the barbed end to be deformed for insertion into the opening in said flange.-

5. An article of manufacture comprising a head, a shank portion, a reduced diameter portion made of frangible material connecting said head to one end of 3,768,849 6 said shank portion and a barbed end at the other end transverse to the longitudinal axis of said shank portion of said shank portion, said barbed end having at least smaller than the cross-sectional area of said shank porone slot therein to define a plurality of barbs, said retion and said barbs. duced diameter portion having a cross-sectional area 

1. For use with a cover for an opening in a vessel wherein said vessel includes a passage spaced from the opening in said vessel and said cover has a passage therethrough positioned to be aligned with said passage in said vessel, a flag plug for indicating whether the cover has been opened cOmprising a shank portion dimensioned to extend through the passage in said cover and into the passage in said vessel, a head adapted to be exposed on the surface of said cover, and a frangible portion connecting said head and said shank portion whereby when said cover is opened said head will be broken off said shank portion, said frangible portion having a smaller cross-sectional area transverse to the longitudinal axis of the flag plug than said shank portion and said head; said shank portion having a barbed end including at least one slot therein to provide a plurality of barbs for preventing said flag plug from being removed through the passage in said cover after the flag plug is positioned in the passage in the vessel; said barbs having a cross-sectional area transverse to the longitudinal axis of the flag plug larger than the cross-sectional area of said frangible portion.
 2. A hatch cover assembly for a vessel which includes a hatch hole, said hatch cover assembly comprising: a tubular member surrounding the hatch hole; a flange extending outwardly from the top of the tubular member; a hatch cover pivotally secured to said vessel and adapted to be pivoted between a position which permits access to said vessel through the hatch hole and a position in which the hatch hole is closed; means for releasably securing said hatch cover to said vessel when said hatch cover is in a position in which the hatch hole is closed; said hatch cover defining an opening near one edge; said flange having an opening therein which is aligned with the opening in the hatch cover when said hatch cover is in a position in which the hatch hole is closed; and plug means positioned in the opening in the hatch cover and the opening in the flange when the hatch hole is closed; said plug means including a head and a shank portion interconnected by a reduced diameter portion whereby when said plug means is in said openings and said hatch cover is opened, said head will be broken off from the shank portion.
 3. The hatch cover assembly according to claim 2 wherein said plug means includes a barbed end on said shank portion which is adapted to fit in the opening in the flange.
 4. The hatch cover assembly according to claim 3 wherein said barbed end is provided with at least one slot to permit the barbed end to be deformed for insertion into the opening in said flange.
 5. An article of manufacture comprising a head, a shank portion, a reduced diameter portion made of frangible material connecting said head to one end of said shank portion and a barbed end at the other end of said shank portion, said barbed end having at least one slot therein to define a plurality of barbs, said reduced diameter portion having a cross-sectional area transverse to the longitudinal axis of said shank portion smaller than the cross-sectional area of said shank portion and said barbs. 